The World As We Know It

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." - The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

Sunday, June 25, 2006

Rep. King: "New York Times" = Criminals

To some, the New York Times' newsroom is filled with reporters and editors dedicated to providing readers with the best possible coverage of the events in our world.But to Rep. Peter King, R-NY, criminals are added into the mix of that same newsroom.During an interview today on "Fox News Sunday," King called for a criminal investigation into the Times' reporting on the government's secret bank data sifting program."To me, the real question here is the conduct of The New York Times," King told Chris Wallace after expressing his support for the administration's handling of the program. "By disclosing this in a time of war, they have compromised America's antiterrorist policies.""This is a very effective policy. They have compromised it. This is the second time The New York Times has done this," King continued. "And to me, nobody elected The New York Times to do anything. And The New York Times is putting its own arrogant, elitist, left-wing agenda before the interests of the American people."No problem. King's only filling the airwaves with enough filth to make a landfill look like an operating room."And I'm calling on the attorney general to begin a criminal investigation and prosecution of The New York Times, its reporters, the editors that worked on this, and the publisher," King said.Prosecuting the "Times" for their reporting on such a disgraceful program would be a direct assault on the First Amendment to our Constitution.Because of them and the other papers who ran their own versions of the story, we are reminded once again of the Bush administration's sickening fettish of violating our privacy.And, excuse me, Rep. King, sir... the "Times" has been elected to do something. Those who subscribe to the print edition or have a free account to read the paper online have chosen the "Times" to inform them on the events going on in their world.Don't listen to King's far-fetched idea that the "Times is putting its own arrogant, elitist, left-wing agenda before the interests of the American people", either. All they are trying to do, as I'm sure any paper across the country would, is inform their readers that their confidential banking information may be in the wrong hands.Those who believe otherwise can cancel their subscription or terminate their online account. Or both.And about the "Times" compromising our "antiterrorist" policies? Give me a break. God forbid we find out that the government, members of the Bush regime of all people, are overstepping their boundaries.We need the "New York Times." We need the "Washington Post." We need the "Wall Street Journal." We need any paper that exposes the unjust actions of any government.And we need them now more than ever.

Reporters, Photographer Expelled from Guantanamo

Carol Rosenberg of the "Miami Herald", Carol Williams of the "L.A. Times", Mike Gordon of the "Charlotte (N.C.) Observer" and his photographer Todd Sumlin boarded a plane for Miami Wednesday morning and arrived back in the U.S. at 12:30 p.m. EST.

Rosenberg and Williams, who along with Gordon and Sumlin had been at the U.S. prison camp since Saturday, recieved an e-mail notifying them of the eviction, ordered by Secretary of Defense Don Rumsfeld's office, the magazine reported.

"Media currently on the island will depart on Wednesday, 14 June 2006 at 10:00 a.m.," the message stated. "Please be prepared to depart the CBQ (quarters) at 8:00 a.m."

Gordon and Sumlin were given the choice to stay on the island through Saturday, but their access to the prison camp would be denied, "E&P" said.

Pentagon press officer J.D. Gordon told "E&P" the move to evict the journalists was not made due to the stories filed by the journalists but rather complaints made by other media organizations (including Fox News, The Associated Press, CNN and Reuters) claiming they should also be allowed at the prison camp. Some threatened to sue if they were not granted access to the island.

"The other media started to have a mini-phone riot," Gordon said. "'Hey, why are they there?' We had a major issue on our hands for other media to either 'get them in there or we have to see you in court.'"

The Pentagon's move is yet another blow to the now so-called free press in our country. If officials at Gitmo have nothing to hide (though, after the prison abuse scandal last year and the suicides of three detainees last weekend, that's doubtful) then why can't we get a first-hand account of life at the camp?

Rosenberg, Williams, Gordon and Sumlin had every right to be at Gitmo. We have the right to be informed of the happenings at a U.S.-RUN PRISON (which should have never been opened in the first place.)

But, apparently, as has been unfortunately proven time and time before, that's too much to ask.

Link to "E&P" story on journalists' expulsions: http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002687978

Link to "E&P" story on editors' reactions to the expulsions:http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002688077

Monday, June 12, 2006

Coulter Crosses the Line - Again

Ann Coulter must be deaf. She obviously cannot hear the cruel and inexcusable things that come from her polluted mouth.

In her latest book, "Godless: The Church of Liberalism", released June 6th, Coulter claims four New Jersey women used their husbands' deaths in the September 11th attacks for political gain.

"These broads are millionaires, lionized on TV and in articles about them, reveling in their status as celebrities and stalked by grief-arazzis," Coulter wrote. I've never seen people enjoying their husbands' deaths so much."

Coulter also went as far as calling the women "witches."

If anyone is a witch, it's Ann Coulter. But, unlike many others, she doesn't have to wear a pointy black hat and carry a broom.

And if anyone is "reveling in their status as celebrities," it's also Coulter. Beginning with the Today show June 5th (during which Matt Lauer should have given her a nose-crushing, jaw-shattering slap in the face) and hopscotching to and from everything short of Sesame Street, Coulter cast her disgusting opinions on millions of Americans like a million evil stepmothers setting out a million poisonous apples for a million Snow White's to consume.

Keeping in mind that she perhaps holds the record for the number of times a conservative commentator can cross the line, there is no longer a boundary which Coulter can overstep. The line of appropriateness is a New York-to-Tokyo distance behind her but she continues carefree on a dangerous territory sure to lead her to yet another firing squad.

About Me

An aspiring journalist, I have a deep passion of the newspaper industry. But when the First Amendment is not being violated, I am a die-in-the-wool Democrat who thinks George W. Bush is the worst president in American history.